96 Tasting Notes

I drink mates primarily during what’s known in my house as ‘migraine week’ because they help keep the migraines at bay. I’ve been sticking with Matevana and Mocha Nut Mate but have always wanted a little more variety for those times as mates seem to be variations of the same flavor. Granted, I didn’t expect this one to be terribly different, except that it has coconut and cinnamon.

I just can’t decide. The roasty, toasty mate flavor is there, much like the Mocha nut mate but there’s a sweetness there too and I can’t decide if it’s cloying, wrong in combination with the mate, or totally right. It at times wants to taste vaguely pina colada-y, sometimes rooibosy, and sometimes matey. It’s quite confusing.

I do know I don’t dislike it, but I probably wouldn’t order it again, at least at this time.

Preparation

I’m trying to clean out my tea cupboard as it’s the only remaining cupboard that didn’t get an obsessive ’I’m trying to sell my condo and maybe this will help’ cleaning frenzy because there’s not much in there I want to get rid of so my strategy now is to drink the stuff that’s in bags instead of my cute little tins so it looks neater (yes SpecialTeaz Chocolate chai, this means you’ll be mingling with Adagio’s Chocolate chai to save room, I think it’ll do you both some good). This little guy is in a bag so I went for him this morning.

I used more leaf than I normally would and that appears to have helped bring out the marzipan flavor. I have to say, it’s pretty darn yummy at the moment. I wish TG’s stuff resteeped better, but I guess it’ll help me clear out my cabinet a little sooner.

Preparation

Got this in a swap, I think from Daisy, perhaps? It’s been sitting in my cabinet waiting for a day when I just wanted a cup instead of a full pot. I caught the cold from hell and spent the last two days at home, sleeping until 1ish. Upon waking, I figured a full pot of black wouldn’t be the best idea if I wanted to sleep more so I made a cup of this each day.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love 52 teas and all, but I sometimes find they use a spice in their chai-type teas that I don’t like. I have their pumpkin cheesecake but it had that same spice that bugged me. I like this much better. It really hits the spot that I was looking for in terms of the tea equivalent of the pumpkin spice latte. I’ll have to order this sometime!

For some reason I had a hankering for a fruity tea this morning. It’s freaking freezing out which normally makes me crave desserty things to start my morning. In order to keep myself from going to crazy with this sudden taste change I decided on a compromise and got to mixing.

3 generous tsps of Adagio’s raspberry, 2 tentative tsps of Tea Guys’ chocolate parfait. I was tentative with the chocolate because it tends to be quite strong and dominate when I add it to Teavana’s cocoa mint, but I suppose that’s probably because there’s already a chocolate element at work there. I could have, and will next time, increase the chocolate presence.

This is a little bit of heaven on this cold morning and making my morning navel-gazing meeting slightly more bearable (some of that may be attributed to the fact that I have my laptop and am writing this but look like I’m totally taking notes on all of the “important” things being said). There is a smidge of an aftertaste that I get every so often that I’m not digging but otherwise, this is an amazing combination that I’m sure I’ll drink more often.

Preparation

Got this in a swap, can’t remember from whom though. Thank you, whoever you are!

I want to like coffee tea, I really do but I cannot seem to find one that I fancy. I’ve tried JavaVana and Serene Teaz’s Cafe Latte and they’re just not for me. This one is no exception.

Granted, this probably would have been better had I not ruined the first steep with some creamer of questionable freshness (I don’t think there are supposed to be chunks in there!) but it was just meh to me. I think the first steep would have been better but I’m pretty sure I still wouldn’t have been a huge fan. Perhaps that’s because I only like “coffee” beverages loaded with sugar and other flavors.

This tea is just what I needed to remove the exclamation mark after my Bah Humbug! I’m certainly not going to go around pooping Christmas cheer, especially not with a visit to my mother’s looming, but I probably won’t kill anyone either. Pretty impressive progress for just drinking tea.

I will warn those who err on the side of more leaf, I do the same and today the candy canes are REALLY strong. I’m sure my second steep tomorrow morning will be a little more mellow and more my speed.

Preparation

Same story here, got this as a sample with an order from Adagio (I think my tea of the month club, actually). I forgot my tea mug at work yesterday and wasn’t feeling ambitious enough to make tea and find a different mug this morning so I figured I’d just dip into my bag stash in my desk. I used the keurig in my office to get hot water but I have no idea what temperature it reaches. Plopped the bag in and wha? There’s no string?!? Um, ok, that’ll be interesting in about 5 minutes.

5 minutes, one stirer, and a few scalded fingers later I tried the tea and there’s something off about it. I did add some sugar substitute, generic, from Target, which can sometimes give my tea a different flavor (I find splenda or another natural one works best) but I’m not sure that’s it. I get just a tiny hint of apple and then this other flavor. It kinda makes my face mess up for a second after swallowing but I keep drinking it so take it for what you will.

Finishing up my stash of this from last year. This was one of my first non-Teavana tea purchases because it smelled like their white chai. This tea screams Christmas. I know they have a Christmas tea (that they sell all year round), but this really should be it instead (disclaimer: I’ve never had the other one). This tea is bold and spicy. A little goes a long way here and I find that I can’t drink this for too many days in a row or my tongue gets a little tingly (and not in a fun way) from the cinnamon in it. The second brew is almost better than the first since you’re not socked in the mouth by cinnamon.

This tea WILL leave a very stubborn lingering scent in any tin you use so proceed with caution there unless you plan to stock this forever. Seriously, I’ve washed the tin 3+ times now, let it sit with a baking soda paste overnight, and had dry baking soda in it for at least 2 weeks now and I can still smell spice. Almost tempted to keep buying it just so I can use that tin again but it’s just too strong for me much of the year.

Preparation

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Hello!
I’m Amanda, and I’m new to the world of tea. I got sucked in by a sample at Teavana and have been exploring ever since. I prefer loose tea but will slum it with the occasional, high quality bag.